IEPs and RTI. Progress monitoring and data collection. We know how important it is and why it is so important… better yet, we know how time consuming it is.
But I am here to share with you a simple, easy, and effective way to save time… and your sanity. Oh yeah, and it’s FREE.
If you’re anything like me, you are always trying to simplify the paperwork that being a special education teacher brings along with the title. I wouldn’t trade what I do for the world, but I will admit to being overwhelmed at times because… seriously… there is. so. much. paperwork.
One of my goals this summer was to simplify the way I collect data on my students’ IEP goals and objectives. I kind of have been putting it off until now because the system I already had in place works, and why fix something that isn’t broken right? But this time I really feel like I’ve found an effective, simple, and easy way to collect and manage IEP data (that works for RTI too).
First, you’ll need to download the free resource so you can follow along with this how to.
Because my classroom is color coded, I print each student’s goals on their color of card stock.
To save myself more time, I use a paper cutter to cut out each goal page.
Add a cover for confidentiality… and this is what you finished Progress Ring will look like.
Your finished goal pages may look something like this. So how do I use these goal pages to make collecting data simpler, easier, and still effective?
Let’s take a look at how I keep data on the pages…
1. J = January, F = February, M = March… make sense? After printing, I will go through each page and add a *star* above the month in which the child’s IEP is due. You’ll notice in the sample above, this fictitious child’s IEP is due in November.
2. When I type the goal in, I tag on the measurable part on the end. In the sample, you’ll see “4 of 5”. If it were a percent, I would just type in 80%. It’s easy to read and find.
3. In my district, we are advised to have at least 3 data points for each IEP goal/objective for each progress update (which is quarterly, or 4x a year). You can edit the number of boxes, but I like to keep them… I figure one box for each week of the each month suffices.
If I don’t collect official IEP data one week, I leave the box blank.
4. So what does collecting data look like in my classroom? We do the majority of our academic work at the back table – which is also where I keep the Progress Rings. They’re easy to find, easy to grab a certain student’s ring in the middle of a lesson, and easy to find when it’s time to write progress reports.
So if we’re working at the back table on IEP goals, I will have the student’s Progress Ring right in front of me. I typically use sticky notes to keep track of correct/incorrect responses (tallies), and then put the total fraction or percent in a slot on the binder ring. I keep the sticky notes with my weekly plans, that way if I ever need to look back at any of the data, I have it.
But the Progress Ring is simple and so much easier to look at during progress reports, where I can just type in percents or fractions, instead of filing through tens of sticky notes and deciphering data.
Want to save this idea for later, or simply keep the instructions to come back to as a refresher? Pin the image below to save.
How do you collect, manage, and store student data in your classroom?
Thank you so much for sharing. I am a classroom teacher but know this will be helpful to track progress. 🙂
My favorite tip so far this summer! Thank you 🙂
My favorite tip so far this summer! Thank you 🙂
These are great ideas!
Anisa @ Creative Undertakings
I know I am a year too late BUT this looks fantastic! I taught 6th grade ILS last year and was swallowed up by keeping track of all my progress monitoring. I'm teaching middle school Supplemental Life Skills this year and was trying to figure out a more efficient way to progress monitor and track! I will definitely be trying this out AND following your blog!
I am starting my first year as a special educator this Fall and have been in a panic all summer to develop and perfect a progress monitoring system … This is exactly what I've needed! Thank you!
I'm not a special education teacher, but I think I may use this strategy to progress monitoring for my students that score just below and just above the next proficiency level. This is very organized, neat, and seems easy to implement. I always have some students that are on the brim of the next level. I wonder if monitoring their progress and working indepentdently with them in small groups on specific concepts and skills will help them increase in that area. Thank you for sharing this freebie!
So simple yet effective – plus you could put the ring on a carabiner clip and attach to your beltloop. Thanks for sharing – I passed on your site to my co-workers today 🙂
Efficient system. We are to take 2 data points per week on each objective. I think I'll need several cards per objective to get through the year. THANKS for the freebie
Hi Stephanie. I love the cards. Thank you for making them free! Quick question, what do the x’s on the cards stand for?
Thank you,
KPCarr
I had the same question!
Would look to me like they’re off from school in the summer months
Looking at them, I bet the X’s are when there is no school since they are on June, July and the first part of August. This looks like a great system. I’ve been struggling all year to figure out what works and nothing for me is working so far. This actually might!
Thank you, so much! This will make my life so much easier. What does the “M” stand for and are you marking weekly or randomly?
The letters stand for the months of the year. And you can mark it however you’d like. The template is editable, so you can either do it weekly, monthly… daily. However you’d like!
Sorry, I meant the “M” marked in one of the squares below the months. I am still trying to figure how I will begin marking this for next year! Thanks!
M is for mastered, meaning the child mastered the goal.
Thank you. I thought so, but I wanted to be sure.
I really love this. Last year, I had three assistants with me and it became difficult to keep them in the loop on what each child needed to work on! This would make it so much easier and help me in the graphing we are now required to incorporate. I have really struggled with being the only one to keep up with progress data! The struggle is real!!!! Lol. Thank you so much for sharing this!!!!!!!!
This looks FANTASTIC! I am so excited to try these out with my students this summer! It looks much more organized than my current system 🙂 thank you so much for sharing!!
Thank you so much for this great organizational idea! I can’t wait to try it out in my classroom!
I love this and will be utilizing this when school returns. How do you balance the curriculum with trying to work on the students’ goals? Sometimes I feel like I can’t get it all done and I’m struggling with not finding enough time for everything. The school wants us to implement grade level curriculum and yet I need to go review information that they are still struggling with.
It is a really, really tough balance for sure, and I don’t know if there’s one set answer to “fix” that problem. I know a lot of special ed teachers feel the exact same ways. For me, and how it works in my classroom, is we have our designated core subject times, and then each afternoon we spend 1 hour on IEP goals and objectives. Now I will also take data during core subject time, if it aligns with their goals. 🙂 I hope this helps a little bit!
Thank you so much for sharing this fantastic and functional resource I am looking forward to using it this coming school year in hopes to make my data collection a bit more efficient.
Stephanie what fonts did you use?
Free fonts from TPT. 🙂
You have given me the best resources this summer! I love the progress monitoring and can’t wait to use them. This is going to make my life so much more efficient. Thank you for all your hard work.
This is a great idea! I’m new to the IEP process. However, can you please tell me how to “open it up in PowerPoint”?